Student Expectations – I agree to follow:
Being prepared by practicing my assignments daily, completing my practice journal, and beginning my instrument/reeds/pencil/sheet music to lessons.
Daily Practice: Consistent, thoughtful, and focused practice is the key to being well prepared and growing.
Determine a daily schedule for practice and then be diligent to meet your daily goals. A minimum of 5 days per week of practicing is required. A guideline is 30 minutes of practicing per day for a 30 minute lesson. Expect the time requirement to increase as you advance. The lesson DOES NOT count as a day of practice. Remember…Quality over quantity!
If, for some reason, your full daily practice time is not doable, focus on one thing to learn whether it is making a sound on the reed alone, scales, or just one piece. The point is to FOCUS for that practice time.
In the event of vacations, illness, etc., students can practice extra to make up for missed practice sessions. Please no more than one double session per week.
Practice Journal: Students are expected to fill out their practice journals. Journals are valuable tools for weekly/daily plans, as well as to evaluate growth. All assignments are to be completed prior to their weekly lesson.
Practice Free holidays include: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas Eve/Day, New Years Day, Independence Day, and your Birthday!
Parent Expectations – I agree to follow:
Parents, you are your child’s greatest cheerleader, praise and listen often!
Positive interest and support from parents is essential for your child’s growth and feelings of success. Ask your child regularly to show you what they are learning, what they love or feel good about, and what needs more work. Your interaction/approval is invaluable!
You will help your child cultivate good practice habits by setting aside consistent, quiet time each day for practicing (one or two sessions depending on attention span). Create a respectful family attitude that practice time will be free from distractions or interruptions.
Provide the best instrument and reeds possible. The practice area must be quiet, pleasant, a comfortable temperature, and well lighted.
At the beginning of each week, parents are expected to read the assignment journal, and review goals with their child. During the week write progress/problem comments to me and initial the practice record. By age 12 a student should do their own record keeping.
